LSAT 135 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q5

LR Question 5 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: In its coverage of a controversy regarding a proposal…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: The TV program is biased against the freeway.

REASONING: Most of the people that the TV station interviewed were against the freeway.

ANALYSIS: This question plays on an American notion that news coverage must be ‘balanced’, with equal coverage given to both sides.

This idea of ‘balance’ didn’t exist at all prior to the second world war, and it only became strong in the 1990‘s. It generally doesn’t exist in other countries. If you’re a university age American, the idea of ‘balanced’ coverage is one of the mental biases you’re prone to, and the LSAT tests for this error.

Maybe the dam is a terrible idea and almost everyone hates it. In that case, it would make sense to show more interviews with residents who were against the dam. To give equal coverage would give a misleading view of citizens’ opinions about the dam.

___________

1. It doesn’t matter what viewers think. The question is about whether the program itself was biased.
2. Same as A. Whether or not a program is biased is an objective fact. Who cares what people believe.
3. This might slightly strengthen the argument, by showing that the station selected more emotional, persuasive interviewees to speak against the dam.
4. CORRECT. This shows that the proportion of interviewees against the freeway accurately represented the general population’s views.
5. This gives a reason that the TV station might be biased. It slightly strengthens the argument.